Altars of the Heart

Father Abraham was one of the earliest archetypes of Christ. He developed a very personal and direct relationship with God, and he received many magnificent blessings and promises from the Lord because of his great faith. Therefore, studying Abraham's acts can benefit our own development of faithfulness.

After Abraham gave up everything in the land of Haran to escape idolatry and follow the true God and seek for the blessings of the true priesthood, he led his family to the land of Canaan. In this setting we receive an insight into his developing relationship with God.

And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.
-- Genesis 12:6-8

An altar is a raised platform on which gifts and sacrifices are offered to God. The altar represents our willingness to offer things we value to God, things we will give up so that we can receive even better things from Him. They may be physical things or spiritual. We may give up things we covet or that distract us. We may sacrifice money or time. We may exchange pleasure and ease for service.  Ultimately we offer our pride, our self sufficiency, and our agency. These are the best gifts.

In an altruistic sense, we should offer our gifts without expectation of return. We are, however, rarely altruistic with God. If we are wise, we know we cannot buy blessings. Nevertheless, in our desperate humility, we hope for a return. We hope our sacrifice makes us acceptable to God, so that when we call upon Him, He will hear us and answer generously. Our hope is not vain, for He truly blesses us. The tiniest sacrifice on our part brings great blessings from the Lord, especially when our sacrifice is a much beloved sin for which we finally sincerely repent.

These days the Lord does not expect us to build physical altars of stone on which we burn animal sacrifices. That law was superseded by Christ, who taught us to build altars of the heart on which we offer our broken hearts and contrite spirits.

Following Abraham's example, when we want to call upon God, we would do well to prepare our altar and offer a worthy sacrifice to prepare our hearts to enter His presence. If we ask, God will tell us what sacrifice He wants from us. The object of our sacrifice should not be of our choosing but of His for it to be truly worthy. God will tell us what we need to give, and then His response will be far greater and more glorious than whatever we have given up.